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Roundup - Sick AI Tools For Developers
Mon Jul 10 2023Description
The episode discusses the use of AI tools in development, focusing on Cody AI and GitHub Copilot. It explores their capabilities, limitations, and benefits. Other tools like LintRule.com and Open Commit are also mentioned. The episode highlights the importance of clear prompts and context for AI tools to generate accurate code. It concludes with insights on the role of AI tools in reducing manual effort and the evolving nature of the field.
Insights
AI Tools in Development
AI tools are being used in various areas, not just development. They provide quick and accurate answers to questions or problems. Cody AI, an extension by Source Graph, understands the context of your code base and can generate type or JSDoc comments, identify code smells, and optimize code. GitHub Co-pilot uses context cues to autocomplete and assist with coding tasks.
Cody AI and Code Whisper
Cody AI is a free tool that allows you to upload documents and knows about your entire code base. It has limits on text length but the token limits keep increasing. Amazon Code Whisper is a similar tool to GitHub Co-pilot and is free to use. Copilot Labs extension for VS Code offers experimental features like brushes for different coding tasks. The next version, Co-pilot chat, provides better results and a different UI for interacting with the AI.
GitHub Copilot and Other Tools
GitHub Copilot has improved in generating code based on selected snippets or tests. LintRule.com catches issues missed by rigid linting rules, while Open Commit helps generate informative commit messages. Both tools are paid but offer affordable pricing plans. Open Commit can be beneficial for maintaining clear communication about code changes.
AI Tools and Code Generation
The episode discusses various tools and concepts related to AI code generation. It explores REPL-A-Ghostwriter, hugging face models, Star Coder language model, Code Geeks as an open-source alternative to code pilot, baseline tests for measuring performance, Code Whisperer by Amazon for VS Code, and Codium AI for generating unit tests and infusing AI into coding.
GitHub Code-ium and AI Models
GitHub Code-ium is a locally run tool similar to GitHub Co-pilot. It offers features like code generation, integrated chat and search, and works with multiple editors and languages. Code-ium has lower latency compared to similar tools like Code Whisper. Having a chat interface with AI models like GPT can be useful for tasks such as formatting data or generating dummy data.
Insights on AI Tools
The episode provides insights on using AI tools. It emphasizes the need to verify the output of AI tools before using it, as some instances of generated code can be garbage. Knowing what you're looking for and testing the output can save time. AI tools can reduce manual effort in writing code, but they won't do the task for you. The field of AI tools is continually evolving.
Chapters
- AI Tools in Development
- Cody AI and Code Whisper
- GitHub Copilot and Other Tools
- AI Tools and Code Generation
- GitHub Code-ium and AI Models
- Insights on AI Tools
AI Tools in Development
00:01 - 07:12
- AI tools are being used in various areas, not just development
- AI can provide quick and accurate answers to questions or problems
- Using AI tools in development can be helpful
- Cody AI is an extension by Source Graph that understands the context of your code base
- Cody AI can generate type or JSDoc comments, identify code smells, and optimize code
- Cody AI has both a VS Code plugin and a UI for logging in
- Giving context is important for AI tools to understand what you're asking
- GitHub co-pilot uses context cues to autocomplete and assist with coding tasks
Cody AI and Code Whisper
06:46 - 14:10
- Cody AI is a free tool that allows you to upload documents and knows about your entire code base.
- Source Graph is a paid product that helps explore your code base.
- Cody AI has limits on how much text you can send, but the token limits keep increasing.
- Amazon Code Whisper is similar to GitHub Code Pilot and is free to use.
- Copilot Labs extension for VS Code offers experimental features like brushes for different coding tasks.
- The custom brush in Copilot Labs is handy for converting code or making changes quickly.
- Co-pilot chat, the next version of Copilot, allows you to interact with the AI using a different UI and provides better results.
GitHub Copilot and Other Tools
13:47 - 20:41
- GitHub Copilot is a code generation tool that has improved in its ability to generate code based on selected code snippets or tests.
- LintRule.com and Open Commit are two interesting tools for code review and commit message generation, respectively.
- LintRule uses AI to catch issues that rigid linting rules may miss, such as logging personal information or accidental logs in production.
- Open Commit helps generate informative commit messages by analyzing the changes made and providing summaries with emojis.
- Both tools are paid products but offer affordable pricing plans.
- Using Open Commit could be beneficial for maintaining clear communication about code changes.
AI Tools and Code Generation
20:23 - 27:27
- Discussion about using conventional config and generating change logs from commits
- Introduction of REPL-A-Ghostwriter, an auto-complete extension for Rebelette
- Exploration of hugging face models and the Star Coder language model for programming languages
- Mixed experiences with Star Coder in terms of generating useful code
- Introduction of Code Geeks as an open-source alternative to code pilot
- Importance of baseline tests to objectively measure the performance of AI coding tools
- Overview of Code Whisperer, an AI tool by Amazon for VS Code
- Introduction of Codium AI as another AI tool for generating unit tests and infusing AI into coding
GitHub Code-ium and AI Models
27:20 - 34:00
- GitHub Code-ium is a tool similar to GitHub Co-pilot, but it can be run locally on your computer.
- Companies may have concerns about using GitHub Co-pilot due to security reasons, so in-house versions like Code-ium could be developed.
- Code-ium offers features like code generation, integrated chat and search, and works with multiple editors and languages.
- Code-ium has lower latency compared to other similar tools like Code Whisper.
- Having a chat interface with AI models like GPT can be useful for tasks such as formatting data or generating dummy data.
- Providing clear prompts to the AI model helps ensure that the generated code meets specific requirements.
Insights on AI Tools
33:44 - 36:08
- AI tools can help accomplish tasks, but they won't do the task for you
- Always verify if the output of AI tools is correct before using it
- Some instances of code generated by AI tools can be garbage
- Knowing what you're looking for and testing the output can save time
- AI tools can reduce manual effort in writing code
- The field of AI tools is continually evolving